By Catherine Laroche
President Ramsey is leading a weekly jog for the university community in conjunction with the Get Healthy Now health management program for university employees.
The weekly jog kicked off yesterday, but 10 more events are scheduled for the fall semester. The next one will take place at Cherokee Park at 4:30 p.m. The three-mile walk is the only event scheduled off-campus.
“The jog with President Ramsey aligns with Dr. Ramsey’s vision of creating a more vibrant, energetic campus and residence life,” said Patricia Benson, director of Get Healthy Now. “Dr. Ramsey is trying to create an opportunity for one-on-one interaction with the students, faculty and staff of U of L.”
The Get Healthy Now program is a part of the Human Resources Department and administered by the College of Education and Human Development. “It is designed to give faculty and staff the educational resources and personal encouragement they need to take charge of their health,” Benson said. “Get Healthy Now is a long-term strategy. The over-arching goal of the health management programs is to provide health resources for faculty and staff that will assist them in setting and reaching their personal health and wellness goals.”
The program has only been in existence since Jan. 1, but it has already accumulated approximately 3,000 participants. “Faculty and staff will have the option to sign up for the program again during health insurance benefit open enrollment,” Benson said.
The Get Healthy Now program is comprised of three parts: corporate, campus and community.
Gordian Health Solutions, Inc., of Nashville provides the corporate component through an online health risk assessment questionnaire and by providing health coaches to work with employees via telephone and mail. “Working with a health coach basically means maintaining a relationship via telephone,” Benson said. “Health coaches make about six phone calls per participant per year.”
The Campus Health Initiative comprises the campus component of Get Healthy Now. It offers classes on weight management, stress reduction and other topics. An individually tailored exercise program is available for Get Healthy Now participants. Administered through the College of Education and Human Development department of Health and Sport Sciences, the Campus Health Initiative classes and programs are free and will expand this fall to include life coaches.
The community component is the “Take Charge Challenge,” part of Louisville Mayor Jerry Abramson’s “Healthy Hometown Movement.”
The Take Charge Challenge is a competition between university and college units. Faculty and staff set individual goals to increase their activity levels, and the levels of achievement are used to determine which unit increased its activity more.
“Resources like the health coaches, online information and educational materials from Gordian Health Solutions, and the wellness classes and exercise program through the Campus Health Initiative, would cost hundreds of dollars if faculty and staff went outside the university for them,” Benson said. “Many of the resources would not be available outside of this program.”
Schedule: Jog with the President
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